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Indulge Responsibly: Your Guide to Summer BBQ’s

Sweating with us at The Handle Bar ensures that you’ll earn your BBQ this weekend. And the next. And the one after that. Cause that’s what summer is all about, right?

Spin, grill, tan. Repeat.

But BBQ season poses a big threat to all the effort we put in during the week. Beers, burgers, and those all-too tempting summer themed desserts can de-rail our progress if we aren’t careful. So if you hate feeling guilty about indulging every now and then, here are a few recipes that’ll help you indulge responsibly for the rest of the summer, even if the heat has gotten to your head.

My first rule of thumb for summer BBQs–always make sure you bring a dish so that you have something nutritious and delicious to eat. The best part? You get to share your healthy creation with everyone else. Here are a few of my guilt-free summer favorites:

With clean hands, mix all ingredients (except for stuffing) in a large bowl. Form into patties and flatten. Add stuffing and form the finished patty around the stuffing. Cook thoroughly on the grill or in a frying pan. Substitute lettuce for buns and save on calories and carbs. For all you bacon lovers, top with uncured bacon.

Bacon wrapped asparagusForget pigs in a blanket. Get your greens in with this rendition of the classic hors d’oeuvre.10 thick asparagus spears10 strips of uncured/nitrate and nitrite free bacon4-6 wooden skewers (soak in water first!)

Wrap each spear with one strip of bacon. Secure the spears and bacon with skewers at each end (see photo). Toss on the grill until bacon is crispy and enjoy! If you aren’t firing up the grill, bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 7 minutes or until bacon crispy and asparagus is bright green.